EN61010 vs. EN60204

[geezer]

My employer, a manufacturer of pumps and pump drives for laboratory and industrial process use, has been self-certifying to the Low Voltage Directive using EN61010, as have our competitors. Since our products "control one or more output quantities" (Article 1.1.1.b) and are "used to prepare materials" (Article 1.1.1.c), they appear to fall under the scope of this standard. However there is now a standard, EN 809, for pumps and pump units, that expressly refers to EN60204, whose scope is excluded by Article 1.1.2.b of EN61010. Before Amendment 3, this same article stated that EN204 refered to electronic controls of machine tools, not necessarily pumps. Are we now using the wrong standard? Our products are listed under UL508C rather than UL61010.

What delineates the scopes of EN61010 and EN60204?

 

[ccaserta]

I don't think your using the wrong standard, I think you have to use EN 60204-1 additionaly. Based on your initial description of the product, you probably should have been using it all along. Keep in mind it's not wrong to say you meet the requirements of both standards. Consider your final applications (Industrial and laboratory), By meeting the requirements of both standards you widen your market applications. It does require that you test for both Heavy industrial Immunity and Light/commercial Emissions. However, by meeting both windows you gain more access to various manufactures.

There are some conflicting requirements but just go with worse case and beat out your competitors if possible. I think you will find that there isn't allot you have to do to meet EN 60204-1. Most of it will be documentation and markings. One other thing, have you had a look at EN 10578 for your drives in industrial applications, I've notice that this is more the standard I see being used for drives in Industrial electrical panels.

Christopher Caserta
ccaserta@us.tuv.com
Ph:904-225-0360

 

[geezer]

Thanks again!

Because of the nebulous border between EN61010 and EN60204, I have been addressing the requirements of EN60204 in my EN61010 analyses. Obviously I do not want to risk killing our products by needlessly overspecifying the requirements.

From what I can tell, EN50178 does not appear to apply to our products, since they are line cord connected, free-standing units. Unfortunately IEC, BSI, and Global Engineering Documents are not very helpful in publishing scopes of their standards, as does UL on its web site. That is what prompted this question in the first place.